Reports of suspicious man taking photos of children at local little league practices

Reports of suspicious man taking photos of children at local little league practices

April 2nd, 2014by Todd South in Local - Breaking News

Repeated sightings of a man in his 50s taking photographs of children at Signal Mountain little league games and practices has drawn police attention.

Parent and commissioner of the 4-5-6 year-old league Justin Sveadas said he'd heard reports of the man attending practices and later games at the Timberlinks Drive ball field over the last two weeks.

On Monday night he confronted the man, asking him if he had a child or family member at the game. Sveadas said the man responded defensively and was reluctant to give his name.

Parents of baseball players have messaged each other since the Monday game, concerned about the man's behavior, Sveadas said.

Interim Signal Mountain Police Chief Scott Ogrodowczyk said today that he'd been contacted by the parks and recreation department about the parents' concerns.

He's disseminated a photograph of the man Sveadas talked with to his officers and will have patrols present during games.

He's asked residents to contact police if they see anything suspicious.

"If they have a concern or a suspicion we can go and check it out," Ogrodowczyk said.

Though he added there wasn't anything criminal about taking photographs, he said that if the man is determined to be harassing people or a nuisance there are procedures to ensure he would not trespass on city property.